Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Barren Grounds

An absolutely beautiful book about family, friendship, the damage of greed, the power of doing the right thing, the importance of trust, and more than a little magic.

The Barren Grounds is an indigenous story about a fantasy world very much like C. S. Lewis’ Narnia, but also completely different. Very well written and I couldn’t put it down. I cannot wait to start the second book in the series; The Great Bear.

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dainybernstein's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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kalira's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I have seen this called 'an Indigenous Narnia' and I was surprised how very accurate that felt to it . . . and yet how very different the seemingly-similar threads of story truly are.

The adventures and dangers the children go through feel very real for being part of a fantastical world, and somehow intertwined not too jarringly with the very disparate arc of Morgan learning so much more about herself and her past, though there are still large missing pieces to that. . .

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joyful_patatas's review

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I did genuinely enjoy this book even as a middle grade book. This one follows the theme of identity and culture where the adventure lets the main character, Morgan, learns a bit of her Cree heritage in her time in Askí with Ochek, Arik, and Eli. The dialogue and dynamic of the group was great to read and the mentions on the how the two-legged animals view the land and creatures is identical to how the Indigenous communities viewed the world. The villain of the story taking on the role similar to the colonizers was also an interesting take by taking actual history and implementing it in a middle grade book.

In all, I do hope more people, children especially, read this book and find joy in following the adventure of these peculiar, but fun bunch.

The reason I gave it three stars is mainly because I am nit-picky. I did find the villain underwhelming because of the lack of story behind him. Why did he go to Askí? Why did he not leave? Why did he build a cabin in an area where they are no prey? He was only alive for less than 50 pages after meeting him. I know this is a middle grade book, so I know I am being hard, but the wild up after the tribe kept describing how horrible he was made the reveal and confrontation underwhelming.

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am so happy to have read this book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! I especially loved the use of Swampy Cree throughout the book—what a great way to learn!

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